White House official John Kirby clarified on Wednesday that Pakistan was never a technical or tactical ally of the United States, stressing that there was no alliance treaty between the two countries.
During a press briefing in Washington, Kirby responded to a question about the Biden administration’s actions regarding Pakistan’s call on rising cross-border terrorism.
He noted: “Well, first, as you know, Pakistan was never a technical ally of the United States. I mean, there was no alliance treaty with Pakistan.”
However, Kirby acknowledged the historic cooperation between the two nations in the fight against terrorism.
“But certainly, for many, many years over the last two decades, we partnered with Pakistan as appropriate to address the terrorist threat that still exists in the backbone between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he added.
Kirby also addressed current security concerns, stating: “We recognize that Pakistan is still… the Pakistani people are still victims of terrorist violence coming from across that border. We recognize it.”
He assured that the Biden administration remains committed to working with Pakistan to address these common threats, emphasizing: “We have and as long as we are in office here we will remain committed to working with Pakistan to address those common threats and challenges. And that’s not like that, that hasn’t changed. “It’s not going to change.”
